This week’s edition contains coverage of the final annual town meetings of the year. Our gratitude to the budget committee members, select boards, poll workers, ballot clerks, town officials, and everyone else who put in the hours to make these meetings run smoothly.
We are, however, disappointed with the voter turnout.
Take, for instance, the town of Bremen. At the polls on June 14, residents had the opportunity to repeal the town’s longstanding prohibition against the sale of alcohol in town. Not one of the five articles passed, including one that failed on a 112-112 tie with two blank ballots.
It’s possible the majority of Bremen voters do not, in fact, want alcohol sold in town. That’s absolutely understandable. However, this was a decision 224 of the town’s voters, less than half the 571 votes cast in the 2020 election.
When we posted the results of the Waldoboro annual town meeting by referendum, on The Lincoln County News’ Facebook page, a commenter took umbrage with the fact that we used the phrase “overwhelmingly approved” to describe the vote margins regarding the sale of Friendship Street School (717-181) and A.D. Gray (601-298.) “Depends on who shows up to vote though,” they wrote, “so saying overwhelmingly is subjective.”
Those who showed up to vote overwhelmingly approved the articles.
To really drive this point home, we have the Great Salt Bay Consolidated School District’s $6.2 million education budget, which voters in Bremen, Damariscotta, and Newcastle validated at the polls on June 14. The budget, which contains all expenses for K-8 education for the three towns, is an increase of $319,206.22 or 5.4% from the previous year.
The first step of approving the budget for validation was accomplished by 24 voters at the district’s annual budget meeting in May. That’s roughly a quarter-million dollars per vote!
Local governments operate in the truest form of democracy. Decisions are made by those who show up, period. This is especially important to remember as we prepare for the November election.
